The Descent
by haloeffect12
Summary: Commander shepard started life simply on a farming colonly but when it was attacked by slaver he joined the Alliance to stop this threat. a new mission is given to help stop a pirate gang but disaster strikes and and a surprsing death is in store.


**2275**

The screams.

The screams were endless.

Eli had never heard anything like it before. Sure kids would scream when they were running wild on the playground, and James screamed when they'd watched that horror vid on the extranet; but not like this.

Not like this.

The worst part was that he couldn't tell the difference between the men and the women and the children. Noises were being torn from their throats, keening shrieks that ranged from fear to pain to despair. Some managed to form words like "Daddy!" or "NO! Please!'' Others were formless, long drawn out wails that cut off abruptly when... no, no he didn't want to think about that.

They all stopped eventually.

The last shriek had died away to a low whimper, and then silence had descended on the darkness of the barn. He didn't know how long he lay there, hiding in the straw, and the dirt, and the muck, and the stink. Could have been a minute, an hour, a whole year even, but he couldn't bring himself to move, to come out of hiding. A horse whickered worriedly in the stall next to the one he was hiding in, and he flinched for the noise had been loud in the deafening silence. His heart beat a frantic tattoo against his chest, and the blood pounded in his ears. Surely someone would hear the beat, someone would hear the pounding and the batarian slavers would find him and then he'd be screaming too. Tears slid down his grime covered cheeks and bit the knuckles on his right hand to keep himself from sobbing aloud.

More time passed, and Eli still didn't know how long. The straw was poking through his clothes and he was getting increasingly uncomfortable sitting on the cold, hard dirt of the empty horse stall. He could hear something though, very faint. At first he thought it might be one of the horses, but it continued to get louder and it wasn't any noise a horse would make.

It was artificial.

An engine.

His heart froze in her chest.

Chunk-a-chunk-a-chunk-a

The batarians must have realized their mistake.

They've come back for me.

Chunk-a-chunk-a-chunk-a

As the engine roar grew, he still couldn't make herself move. He couldn't bring herself to leave the relative safety of the barn even when he knew the game was up.

The engines were deafening now, it sounded as if they were going to land right on top of the barn and crush it into oblivion. He almost wished they would, it would mean he wouldn't have to scream like the others. All of a sudden the sound stopped, and then there was the whoosh of a hydraulic door sliding away and the murmur of voices, muffled from where he sat. They were going to find him, he had to run, he had to go... but he couldn't move. The barn door creaked open and a dim orange light filled the darkness, cut by the surgical brightness of an assault rifle's tactical lamp as the beam traced back and forth, searching... searching...

"Alliance Marines. We're here to help, is anyone there?"

Eli jumped at the sudden and loud female voice, the straw rustled, conspicuously noisy. It betrayed him. The tactical beam fell on the stall where he was hiding, the white light blazing through the cracks in the wooden boards. Then the stall door was pushed open and Eli threw his hands up in front of his eyes, it was too bright, it hurt. They were going to take him away now, and he was going to have to scream like the others. A pitiful, desperate sob escaped his lips, and he hated himself for it.

"Please..." he whimpered. "Don't hurt me." It was absolutely disgusting. The combat armour made the woman look bigger than she actually was, as she went down on her knee in front of Eli. She took her helmet off, revealing that she actually was human and this wasn't a trick. Completely and beautifully human.

"Hey," She made shushing noises as she gently placed a hand on Eli's trembling shoulder. "It's alright kid, you're safe now. I'm with the Alliance, my name's Sara Gomez. Everything's going to be alright."

Sara. Her name was Sara, just like his mother. Eli had left her behind. They had been running from the shelter because the slavers had found it and Sara Shepard had fallen, snagged her foot on a rock or something. Eli hadn't even stopped to help her, he'd been too scared. Even when his mother called after her, screamed for him to come back and help her, Elin had kept running. Then her screams had become like the others.

The Sara in front of her was speaking to someone on her radio; she had taken her hand from Eli's shoulder and was holding it to her ear now. As Eli listened to the one sided conversation she felt an odd squirming sensation in his stomach. It took him a second to realize it was shame.

"Sarge, its Gomez. I've got a survivor here in the barn."

In the barn, with the animals ... just like an animal.

"No, just the one brave soul."

Just the one coward who ran away and left everyone else to die.

"Right, hang on. What's your name kid?"

Tell her your name coward.

"E... Eli Shepard." He managed to stutter it out.

"Shepard, Eli." Gomez said, talking to the radio again. "Check the colonial manifests and see if he's got any surviving family."

He didn't. They were all dead. He'd left them to die. He should be dead too, it was what he deserved... he just couldn't bring himself to say it out aloud.

He woke up. The memories of the blitz so focused in his mind. He stepped out of his quarters, already clad in his black and red armour, with his helmet tucked under his armpit. Shepard's armour shone under the lights, which reflected off his white "N7" insignia: it was a symbol that awed some and frightened others; it was a symbol of humanity's elite, a symbol worn only by the best soldiers Earth had to offer. He was not one to brag, but he hadn't exactly earned this rank by kissing a lot of behinds he earned it by kicking it. On his way to the elevator, he spied one of his squad, Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko. He was still in his casual crewman's outfit, a grey short sleeved shirt and grey pants. Funny that such common attire was worn by such a powerful man; Kaiden was a biotic, and a powerful one to boot. He could use special cranial implants to harness Dark Energy, making him able to lift and throw adversaries with incredible force. He was sitting in the mess hall, with a bowl of some tan cream in front of him, but seemed more interested in tenderly massaging his pounding head than eating. That was the drawbacks to all his power: his implants gave him terrible migraines. Still, it's better than the brain tumours some other biotic users got. "Implant flare?" Shepard inquired as I walked up next to him.

"I'm ok, Commander" Kaiden said, "It's dying down"

"Good" He said, "But eat something and get some aspirin from Dr. Chakwas anyway. That's an order. Besides, you look a little thin."

"I'm always a little thin" Kaiden chuckled as I walked away.

He also took the time to stop by Liara's lab behind the medical bay. Liara T'Soni was his local archeologist, specializing in the Protheans. She had been locked in her lab for the past 3 days studying some Prothean artifacts they had uncovered in an asteroid belt.

"Knock knock" he said as he rapt on the doorframe and poked his head in. The beautiful Asari scientist looked up from her work and turned to me. "You better wrap that up" Shepard stated "We got to shake a leg". Liara starred at him for a second, nonplussed. He realized his use of Earth slang had totally bamboozled her and he cleared his throat. "You'd better finish up soon, we need to get going" He said more clearly. Her eyes dawned with apprehension, "Ah, yes. Of course, Commander." She went back to her desk, presumably to finish up a few last details of her work. He smiled and left.

When Eli arrived at the elevator, he found another of his crew, Garrus Vakarian. He was fully armored as well and was apparently waiting for me. "Commander!" He said as Shepard approached, "I just wanted to discuss the mission with you. Make sure we were both on the same page before the attack." Garrus and Shepard stepped into the elevator, discussing the battle plan and our equipment selections. Garrus was a Turian, which might make some people judge him unfairly. But not Shepard; Garrus was reliable, smart and tough, qualities he admire in people, human or otherwise. He was an ex-C-Sec officer, a seasoned cop, and he had the mind of a detective, albeit a slightly brash one. We got to the lower levels of the ship, where we were supposed to gather our equipment from the armoury. That's where Shepard and Garrus separated.

As he headed down the hallway, he noticed Wrex leaning up against the wall. Wrex's eyes, which had been staring pensively at the wall, turned their crimson gaze to me. "Shepard" Wrex said curtly.

"Wrex" he replied with a nod as he passed. Urdnot Wrex wasn't big on words; he preferred actions, like Shepard. Wrex was a Krogan, a dying warrior race, and as such, war was in his blood, his very DNA. But he wasn't an animal, far from it; he was a consummate professional, a true Krogan Battlemaster. He did his very best to be distant from the rest of us, but I could tell he had grown to like and even trust us, even if he'd never say it. In fact, a lot could be told from Wrex if you knew what to look for. Eli knew just from looking at him that he was armed, armored, and ready for the killing to start.

In the other part of the lower levels, where they kept our gear and Mako locked up, Eli saw Garrus getting prepared. "I can't wait commander there's an old saying with my people if you want war prepare for peace."

"I suppose there's some truth in that" I put my hand to my chin as I thought for a second, and then I had it: "Sic vis pacem, parabellum. If you want peace, prepare for war." He retorted. Ashley gave me a competitive smirk, "There is nothing so exhilarating as to be shot at without result, Churchill."

"What do you get when you cross a Mass Relay with NASCAR?" Kaiden cut in as he arrived, along with Liara and Wrex, "A relay race". There was a silence as Kaiden's terrible joke lingered in the air; only the sounds of the engines could be heard. "Anyway" Shepard said, interrupting the quiet, "Time for our final check, then everyone in the Mako."

Without a word spoken, his squad went to work: checking armour, inspecting weapons and readying shields. Then they filed one by one into the Mako, our 8-wheeled APC/Exploration vehicle. The Normandy was capable of dropping them, in the Mako, on top of a target. And with its boosters, the Mako could slow down enough for a survivable landing. They filed in, one by one; and as he watched them board, he realized that each of them had their own special skill that made them indispensable. Kaiden was their most powerful biotic, Garrus had his C-Sec training and a detective's eye, Wrex was a nigh unstoppable warrior and Liara had unique knowledge of the Protheans. But what did he bring to the table? What did he have to offer the team? He was the leader, the Spectre, the lynchpin that held this motley crew together: Alliance Commander Eli Shepard.

This was a special mission given to him by Admiral Hackett. Normally the assignments Hackett gave him were standard stuff, but this was heavy. A pair of powerful pirate groups from the Terminus systems called "The Orions" and "The Ghosts of Doradus" had banded together and started hijacking Alliance freighters loaded with top tier technology; advanced computer modules, heavy cannons, you name it. Alliance Intel believed they wanted to arm some of the other Terminus groups and organize an invasion bigger than the Skyllian Blitz. Everyone knew that if the groups in the Terminus System were to get organized, they could pose a serious threat to Citadel space. It was there job to go there, secure the technology before it could be used, and wipe out the pirate presence.

However before we could even to comprehend the mission we heard a distress call from the Citadel. It was under attack. They need immediate assistance. But if we help them we would be like lambs to the slaughter half our fleet will be destroyed. However the needs of the galactic community must be put above human lives. "Joker plot a jump to the Citadel use the Shanxi Relay. Tell Hackett to have the 5th ready to engage batarian forces whilst the Normandy and some dreadnaughts come to the aid of the Ascension."

"Yes Commander. Hackett will head there from Arcturus with the entire Fifth Fleet… we have an emergency transmission form the Citadel." replied Joker.

"Is it on official channels?" Shepard enquired.

"Negative Commander it's on Batarian channels. It's coming from Bahak! He was the one who launched the assault on Mindoir. Patching him through." Joker said frantically over the COM.

"You are, all of you, vermin. Cowering in the dirt, thinking... what, I wonder? That you might escape the coming fire? No. Your Citadel will burn until its surface is but ash and not even your demon will creep blackened from its hole to defy us. These are your last moments as the full might of the terminus systems will watch as the Asari scream as their citadel burns the Turians will cry as Palaven is turned into a cinder. The Salarians will moan as we eat their eggs and the humans will shriek as their Earth falls into the Sun these are your last moment s enjoy."

"Wow he's a melodramatic one isn't he commander?"

"Joker distribute this to the Turian Hierarchy, The Asari Republics, The Salarian Union and our Systems Alliance."

"Very well." We came out of the relay to see the fleets engaged all over the place. The Turians and Alliance dealing with the Batarians and the Asari and Salarians trying to protect the ruling Council on the Ascension and deal with the Terminus pirate vessels. There sensors could tell that Bahak was on the station and that Shepard, Liara and Wrex go down to the Council Chambers to try and stop him.

"Ah Shepard I see that even now you're fleets try to stop me but this is I vain. I can hear the God's whispering in my mind ever since I went to visit the Leviathan of Dis. He needs me to do this to stop you just like I did when I captured you. Remember that day? I tortured you for Intel but you never gave in then you were rescued by the Turian strike force. That has always been a sour note on my people's history. But no more." Bahak whispered seemingly demented.

"It doesn't have to be this way you can stop it. Look around you you're people are dying. Stop this madness before it's too late for the Batarian Hegemony. Please stop it for your child." Shepard pleaded with him.

By the looks of things Bahak agrees... but then he seems to become demonic almost and starts attacking Shepard with this crazed demented look in his eye that clearly showed that he wasn't going to stop until every human was dead. So Shepard did what was necessary and fought him from bench to bench, cover to cover until he couldn't keep it up any more he was fatigued, sweating and above all contemplating his life and capture. However he noticed something. Something a well-trained military eye couldn't see. Bahak was dead on his feet too. The battle still raged outside but all had become quiet because within that Chamber Shepard realized something. He could win. He fought with every last ounce of energy remembering all the fallen to force Bahak onto the defensive. To push him further back, all the anger, hate and malice he had for Bahak seemed to come from within to give him strength to defeat this final villain just like Batman did with Joker (not my Joker of course) to beat Bahak and send him back to the black pit that he crawled out from.

This was Shepherds final victory yet in that moment a gunshot was heard and Shepard the hero of humanity was killed in action defeating the last warlord of Khar'shan (Batarian home world) this was the last victory shame it had to come at such a high price and that our victory tasted as bitter as defeat.


End file.
